distinctlyDrake: Campaign Update

We NeeDU

Your gift to distinctlyDrake makes a significant difference in the lives of students and the future of the University. Your generosity—whether it comes in the form a one-time $25 donation or a $25,000 endowment—helps ensure the success of current students and allows the University to continue to evolve and confront new challenges in a changing world. Visit www.distinctly.drake.edu to make your contribution and to read about the people and projects that are making a difference.

Bulldog Family Advances distinctlyDrake

Since the public launch of distinctlyDrake two years ago, the University has raised $113.3 million—more than half of its $200 million goal. And while corporations and foundations have made significant contributions to advancing the vision for Drake University, distinctlyDrake is mostly driven by the thousands of members of the Bulldog family.

Strength in Numbers

Nearly 90 percent of the gifts made to distinctlyDrake are from alumni, trustees, parents, and valued friends (see Source of Gifts chart, p.39). These are the people closest to Drake—the ones who have invested their hearts in the University and who have chosen to invest their dollars as well. They are also the ones who understand that even the smallest gifts make a difference. That a single $100 gift—combined with many other $100, $300, $500, and $1,000 gifts—can elevate the Drake experience to the highest level of excellence for every student, every day.

This is the collective strength of the Bulldog family: individuals coming together to create outstanding results.

The Momentum Builds

As funds for distinctlyDrake accumulate, so do the opportunities to transform the campus landscape. In recent months, Drake has broken ground on the Morgan E. Cline Atrium and has completed the construction of Cowles Library After Hours, including Cowles Café, and the renovation of Bulldog Theater (see related articles, pgs. 35–37).

Other capital projects completed and funded through distinctlyDrake include Hubbell Dining Hall, Patty and Fred Turner Jazz Center, and several renovations in the science buildings.

As the momentum for distinctlyDrake continues, the focus for capital projects will include the construction of a new Center for Collaborative Learning building which will house the School of Education, renovations and expansions to Cartwright Hall and athletic facilities, additional renovations to Cowles Library, and new construction and renovations in the sciences.

Passion Spurs Opportunities

distinctlyDrake is turning the passion for academic excellence shared throughout the Drake community into extraordinary opportunities for faculty and students. These opportunities are being realized through the development of academic centers, endowed faculty positions, and scholarship funds.

Funded through generous gifts to distinctlyDrake, The Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship and the William M. and Jean M. Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership are already providing students with exceptional learning experiences designed to grow their interests and skills and prepare them for success in a rapidly changing world. More than 101 scholarship funds have been created—a huge step toward ensuring that a Drake education is affordable to all highly qualified students. And the six, newly endowed faculty positions will ensure Drake continues to attract and retain the very best faculty now and well into the future.

For the Good of the Pack

More than 20,000 members of the Bulldog family have contributed their time, talent, and financial resources to distinctlyDrake. Like you, they understand what’s at stake— keeping our promise to students: ensuring that every Drake student is provided with the opportunities that come with a stimulating, innovative, and truly exceptional learning experience from which they benefit for the rest of their lives.

You are already part of the promise—now you can help keep it. Give to distinctlyDrake and advance the University toward achieving its vision to be—and be recognized as—one of the best institutions of higher education in the nation.

Alumna Marks 30 Years of Consecutive Giving

Karen Branding, LA’82, has a motto that she likes to share with Drake University students and alumni: “Learn and return.” It means, simply, to learn all you can at Drake—and, once you’ve graduated, return that privilege to the next generation of students by giving a little back.

Branding attended Drake on scholarship, studied public administration, and spent three years as a Resident Assistant in Goodwin-Kirk Residence Hall. Since graduation, she’s created a legacy of 30 straight years of giving. She’s now a member of The Bonnie and Lewis McNurlen Consecutive Giving Society, a recognition program exclusively for Drake’s most loyal alumni donors.

But Branding’s legacy was almost a nonstarter; it took someone older and wiser than she to instill a spirit of philanthropy.

“I remember getting something in the mail right after graduation and telling my mom, ‘I can’t believe Drake is already asking me for money,’” Branding recalls. “My mom wisely said, ‘Karen, now is the time for you to start giving back so the next person can go to Drake on scholarship like you did.’ It changed the way I saw everything.”

Branding’s first gift to Drake was just a few dollars. She’s increased her contribution as she could over the years. In 2002, she created the Branding Resident Assistant Leadership Retreat, an annual retreat for students who serve as supervisors in Drake’s residence halls. She’s also given back to Drake as a member of the National Alumni Association Board of Directors.

“You go through college and you think it’s all about you,” Branding says. “But then you get out of college and realize, ‘I’m part of a larger world. I have to give back.’ It’s because of Drake that I am who I am and that I went on to have a very robust career. Learn and return.”

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Drake's mission is to provide an exceptional learning environment that prepares students for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishments, and responsible global citizenship. The Drake experience is distinguished by collaborative learning among students, faculty, and staff and by the integration of the liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation.